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A retelling of the Mahabharata in 108 short chapters with the author's line drawings and notes on regional and folk variants.
There are two kinds of victory: beating others in a contest, and mastering yourself. The first leaves losers behind. The second is a win in which no one is defeated, which is why the epic's author insisted it be called by that name rather than the name for victory in war.
Right conduct is not about punishing wrongdoers or giving each side what it is owed. It is about empathy and wisdom. Because it is about conquering yourself rather than others, everyone can win, even the side that lost the war.
Offered either a person's presence or that person's possessions, one chooser takes who they are and the other is content with what they own. The split between what one is and what one has marks the line between seeking the soul and settling for material things.
Both rival sides failed to learn that rage is futile and forgiveness has value. That shared failure is what finally brought ruin on the whole clan, winners as well as losers.
One kind of story shows a model ruler upholding the rules in a model kingdom. Another shows imperfect rulers in an imperfect world, where the divine figure changes the rules and acts as kingmaker rather than king.
One kind of reward is pleasure that lasts only as long as you have earned it, and it runs out when your merit does. Another kind is bliss that never ends, and it comes from releasing the self rather than piling up good deeds. Telling these two apart is the key to the whole story.
The decisive fight happens before any weapon is raised. It is a struggle of thoughts and emotions inside the mind and heart, and the outer battle only plays out what was settled there.